Masquerade Birthday Party
by Sakine
Summary: Tenten just wanted to have a small 18th b-day party until the girls turned it into a masquerade themed dance party! But her main concern is if Neji will show up. Afterall, she does need a date.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: This is just a little something that popped into my head one night and I wanted to get on virtual paper. Its longer than I thought it'd be, but whatevs, it's just a break from my original fanfic im in the middle of writing (A Not So Sweet Dream). And if you wanna know why they were looking for Lee, its cause they wanted to ask him about what they should get her for presents. And when Hinata left her house and seemed odd, its cause she was going to get her a gift. BTW i listed it under romance/humor, but dont think theres a lot of humor in it, its mostly just romance :P**

Kunai were spread across the grassy floor. Tenten jumped down from a tree and looked at her teammate.

"Well, I think that was a sufficient session," Tenten said to her teammate as she packed away her scrolls. Neji nodded and began to head away from the training grounds. Tenten gathered her things and began to catch up with him. After a few steps, "So um…" Neji turned to her slightly as they walked "Hm?" She looked down for a bit, contemplating her words. "Um.. uh." Neji just stared in confused patience. "…. Nevermind," she finally said with a small fake smile.

"Are you okay Tenten?"

"Yea, sorry, I'll see you tomorrow." She said cheerfully as she began to change directions.

"Hn," he said as he continued forward. _She can be very confusing sometimes, _he thought.

Tenten continued to walk in slight disappointment as she pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. (Reading: "18th Birthday!" with a chibi picture of Tenten on the cover.) She stared at the somewhat crumpled paper when she heard her named being called.

"Oi, Tenten!" She looked up to see Lee walking towards her. "So did you invite him yet?"

She shook her head. "I couldn't bring myself to say anything. I kept hearing his rejection ringing in my ears."

"Aw, come on Tenten, how do you know he would not want to come if you don't invite him?"

"Cause I know how he thinks. He would think of a silly party as a waste of time. Besides there's usually a lot of sweets at parties, which he doesn't particularly like. So there're two reasons he wouldn't wanna come right there."

"But he might come to support your transition into adulthood! Being eighteen does mean you're legally an adult you know."

"Yea but he didn't want a party. Remember when you and Gai tried to throw him a party… every previous year?"

"Yes," his head slumped down, "they were all failures… but this is your party! He may not be so grumpy if he is at a party that's not his!" He said with a big grin.

"Oh Lee, your improbable logic somehow gives me hope. Okay, I promise I'll invite him." She said while looking at a proud Lee. "Hey, since you're here, you wanna help buy some of the party supplies?"

"Yosh!" Lee saluted.

* * *

"Hm.." Tenten's concentration was intense as she stared back and forth between the two packages of streamers. "I kinda like these ones, I think they'd look good in the trees if they hung down." Lee nodded in agreement as he started towards another isle of the store.

"Tenten!" Tenten turned around to see Sakura and Ino at the entrance. "We've been looking for you, we have a question."

"Oh? What is it?"

Lee, after hearing Sakura's voice, reappeared back next to Tenten. Sakura said while grabbing Lee, "well, we were just going to ask if you knew where Lee was, but I think we just found him."

Ino jumped in "Wait a minute, are those puny decorations you're looking at all your planning on getting?"

Tenten looked at her streamers and small party favors, "well, I was only planning on doing a small party, so yea I guess."

Ino shook her head. "Tenten, this is your eighteenth birthday, you deserve to have a big fun party! I mean you did rent out the picnicking area didn't you?"

"Yea, but I was just going to serve cake and some food or something."

"I don't think you realize the opportunity you're missing here! You rented out tables and a big field, you need to do something more with that!"

Sakura chirped in, "Yea, like some sort of event. Maybe a game or something… or maybe.. a dance!"

"Yes!" Ino and Lee both approved.

"I dunno, I don't want something too big. I mean, what if people don't want to dance?"

"Nonsense, it just needs to have a theme or something. Everyone loves a themed dance."

Lee raised his hand enthusiastically, "Ooh! How about a costume party? There's this big inflatable dinosaur costume I've wanted to try on! It even makes sounds if you push the hand!"

The girls gave each other weird looks. "Uh, what about something a little more formal?" the girls, and Lee, continued their brainstorm as Tenten just turned back to browsing for more colorful decorations. "Maybe a black and white dance, really fancy." "Yea, but that's not exciting enough." "Slip and slide in dresses?" "No, too dirty." "Secret santa dance, but with your dance partner?" "Nah, that could end badly."

Tenten grabbed a bag of blank masks. Ino yelled "That's it! A masquerade! "

The other two agreed. "That's perfect! What do you think Tenten?"

"Well, I think if everyone wants to dress up and dance, then why not. But you guys are in charge of it."

"Don't worry Tenten, you'll thank us! Come on Lee, we've got some questions for you."

* * *

The next few days were spent with Tenten slowing building up courage to invite her teammate and preparation for the masquerade. The word spread quickly as the two girls told all chuunin as well as a few jounin about the party. As suspected, a lot of people were excited to hear about something so fun happening for once, even if a few of them didn't know Tenten too well. There were four days left until the party, so Ino, Sakura, and Hinata met up with Tenten to do some shopping. They walked into a store called "Masks, Mayhem, and More."

"Wow" Tenten said as she looked at all the intricately made masks, dresses and other interesting accessories. "This store is… it's just… wow."

"I found this store last year, I knew it'd be perfect for your party." Sakura added. The four walked around the store carefully picking out dresses and matching jewelry. Ino went with a sparkly yellow theme, Sakura with a pink and red theme, Hinata's theme was purple, and Tenten had a sparkly black and silver theme. After the dresses were picked out, it was time for the masks. Ino picked out a gold feathered mask, Sakura got a small red mask, Hinata chose a sparkly black and purple mask, and Tenten was still shopping. The three were chatting about their outfits as she browsed until her attention was caught by one mask in particular. She stared at it, admiring every jewel and the placement of every black feather. It was a small mask, yet it had the resemblance of a dragon. Some jewels looked like sparkly, silver scales with beautiful black jewels outlining the eye holes, topped with black feathers above the mask.

_ It's beautiful…_ she took it off the wall and headed to the check out.

Ino started, "alright, we are almost prepared! Now all we need are dates."

"Dates?" Tenten asked.

"Well you wanna have someone to dance with don't you? I was thinking of asking Sai."

_ She invited Sai to my party? I don't even recall having one conversation with him before._

Sakura chimed in, "what about Shikamaru?"

"Eh, I know he and Temari have some sort of connection, I'd feel weird asking him to go if he has someone else in mind. Besides, Sai would look pretty cute in a suit. Anyone in mind Sakura?"

"Not really. I guess I'll just wait to be asked. How about you Hinata?"

"Um, I was maybe thinking… about Naruto. But he's probably going to ask you Sakura. So I might go with Kiba if he wants. What about you Tenten, did you invite Neji yet?"

"No, I've tried a few times, but I just keep having this feeling he would say no. Hey wait, were you inferring that Neji was going to be my date?"

"Well you guys do hang out a lot." Ino said.

"Yea, and I'll admit I have had some feelings for him for awhile, but I doubt he feels the same. Even if he did, nothing would ever evolve from that." She said with a sad tone.

Hinata slowly spoke up, "that's not true, I can tell he admires you more than most people. Whenever I see you two together, I sometimes see him smile, or chuckle even. That's more than he does with anyone else."

Tenten perked up a bit. "Okay, tonight. I'll invite him to the party tonight." They all smiled, checked out and headed outside.

"Sakura!" Naruto shouted as he and Lee saw them exit the store. "Hey, you guys do some shopping?"

"Yea, just got our dresses."

"Oh! Then may I be the first to ask you to accompany me to Tenten's dance?" Lee asked with a small bow.

"What! That's not fair! I wanted to be the first to ask Sakura!" Naruto protested.

"Relax. I'll dance with both of you. By the way, you should get your masks from here, it has everything."

"Will do," Lee said. "By the way, have you asked-"

"I'm doing it tonight. " Tenten interrupted.

"Good!"

"Oh, so you're going with Neji?" Naruto asked. "He doesn't seem like the kind of guy that would dance. Hey Sakura what do you think of this mask!" he pointed to the window of the shop showing an obnoxiously large colorful mask with tusks, horns, and bulging eyes.

"…. No" Sakura said flatly. "If you wear that then I can't promise a dance with you."

"Aw, I thought it'd look cool," he said with disappointment. "Well, we have to get our masks, we'll see you later."

"Um, Naruto.." Hinata called out a little too late as Naruto and Lee walked into the store, not hearing her at all. "... ): "

* * *

**20 minutes later**

* * *

Tenten stood in front of the store, staring at the dozens of people shopping for masks and dresses. _Are all these people here shopping for my party? _Ino appeared out of nowhere "Yeeaa, by the way, we may have invited a few extra people to make the dance more fun. Most of them know you, and if not you'll make friends!"

_ What have I gotten myself into? _ She thought to herself with a sigh. She had nothing else to do for the rest of the day, so she took a deep breath and headed over to the Hyuuga estate.

* * *

It was around seven when Tenten got to Neji's house. She stared at the peaceful manor before heading up the entrance. "Oh, hey Hinata," she said as she saw the girl exit the compound. "Is Neji here?"

Hinata nodded. "He's in the garden. Meditating I think."

"Thanks, so where're you headed? "

Hinata stiffened up. "Nowhere! Just uh, taking a walk, that's all. Bye." She bowed then ran off. Tenten shrugged at her odd behavior and headed around towards the garden.

_ Neji, would you- no… Hey Neji, I know you're probably not interested, but- …. no…._she rehearsed in her head as she grew closer to facing him. She stopped walking. "… Why does this have to be so hard!" she yelled at herself in frustration.

"What is so hard?" a voice asked.

Tenten looked up and saw Neji rounding the corner towards her. "Oh! Nothing, um. Were you just meditating?"

"Yes." He said simply.

"Oh, well, I just came by to ask, to tell you that if you want…"

He raised his eyebrow at her.

She took a deep breath. "I'm having a small party in a few days I wanted to invite you. I know you may not be interested but I would like it if you came." _Wow, that wasn't so bad._

He thought about it. "I'll think about it."

Tenten smiled and gave a small bow. "Thank you. And um, apparently some of the girls put together a dance, but it's no big deal. I just wanted a small party but people wanted to do a little more so I don't know what's going to happen. Well, think about it, and I'll hopefully see you there. Bye." He watched as she left through the gate, then retreated to his quarters.

While outside the estate, "… YEEEESSS!" Tenten fist pumped the air in relief. "Why did I stress over that?" _Still, I hope he comes…just cause I asked him doesn't mean he's going to come. Guess this means I need to find a date tomorrow. _She went back to her apartment for the rest of the evening.

* * *

**Later in the Hyuuga household**

* * *

Hinata walked past Neji's open room, "Oh Neji, did Tenten talk to you yet?"

"Yes. She invited me to her party."

"Are you going to go?" she asked.

"Not sure. It's just a party."

"Yes, but it's Tenten's birthday. I know it'd mean a lot to her if you went."

"Maybe if it was a small get together, but she said there is a dance. That's not exactly my thing."

"Y-yes, but she really wants you to go. It took her a week to get the courage to invite you."

_ That's why she's been acting weird lately. All because she was afraid I'd say no to her? _"Either way, I wouldn't even dance. I would have nothing to do there."

"Actually, I think she would like if you accompanied her to the masquerade. She is quite fond of you. It's probably not my place to say, but this past week she's been stressing out about your answer. I've seen her walking around alone looking depressed, and whenever anyone brought up the idea of her inviting you, she gave that same disappointed look. As if she heard you say no every time. Even earlier today, she admitted to having feelings for you. I really think you should think about going, even if there's nothing to do, at least go for Tenten. It is her birthday after all."

Neji's heart twitched a little from hearing this. He never looked for romance before, knowing that it would interfere with his priorities. But he still wondered how it would feel to be admired by someone. He felt the closest to Tenten for awhile, but never thought she would think anymore of him than a friend or teammate. Hearing that she would want him to be her date made his heart feel something… different. "… What would I need for the party?" he asked with the slightest blush.

"Probably a tuxedo, a mask and maybe a present."

"Hm. Thank you Hinata. I'll consider it."

She bowed and went to her own room.

* * *

**Later that night**

* * *

After his dinner and shower, Neji couldn't help but think about what his heart has been feeling. _Why can't I stop thinking about this? It feels weird. Does she really have such feelings for me or just wants her teammate to escort her so she's not alone. That could be. But then why not just say that, it wouldn't take a week to ask. I shouldn't even be thinking about this. It's a bad idea… I would want to take her, but it would feel too awkward. I've never done anything romantic, especially while dancing. I can't do this. I'll go to her party, but that's it. No dance.

* * *

_

**Neji's Dream**

* * *

"_Neji!" Lee shouted, "Where is it!"_

"_What?"_

"_Your suit! The party's starting in 5 minutes!"_

"_Oh, uh," he said as the suit magically appeared on his body._

"_Good you're ready! Let's go" Lee said as he rushed Neji out the door. Within seconds they were at the dance full of Konoha ninjas in elegant clothes. All the guys were in tuxedos and the girls were in 18__th__ century dresses. Much bigger and fancier than normal prom dresses. _Wow, _Neji thought. He didn't anticipate all this. _

"_I don't know about this Lee…" he muttered, but then he saw Tenten in the crowd in a beautiful gold dress with a matching mask. Her hair was down and she looked perfect. He felt himself blush when she walked towards him._

"_N-Neji?"_

"_Yes?"_

_ She held out her hand, "do you want to dance?" He nodded hesitantly and accepted her hand. They walked onto the floor, hand in hand and began to waltz. They danced very gracefully. No stepping on toes, no wrong moves, just fluent body movements back and forth. It felt nice to dance like that. There was no pressure to succeed or impress, he just did what his body told him to do and it felt right. They danced in the center of the dance floor while everyone watched and admired them. Neji smiled and stared at the beautiful Tenten in front of him. His heart felt light and carefree, he wasn't use to it, but he loved it. He didn't know why he did this, but he leaned down and gave Tenten a light kiss on the lips. She smiled at him and his heart never felt happier. The dance slowed down where he just held her in his arms and swayed to the music. He smiled.

* * *

_

The sun crept into the boy's room, forcing him to wake up. He just laid there, staring at the ceiling. _Her birthday's in 3 days…_

**Part 2 coming…. Whenever I'm motivated to actually writing everything down (I get distracted so easily) and I'm actually drawing pictures of the girls and neji in their dresses/suit so that may be one reason the second chapter will be a little late. So far I only have ino and hinata done, 3 more to go :3 (and yes, that is a sadface when Hinata tried to ask Naruto to the dance)**


	2. The Party

**Authors note: Images for the dresses and present are here:**

**deviantart(erase this )/#/d3a8yo1**

**deviantart(erase this )/#/d3a8y6u**

**Also, Lou and Shosuke are NOT made up characters. They were in Shippuden episode 184 if you're interested. And Haruka is one of my OCs who seemed to fit in this story quite well, so I gave him a little appearance.**

**Well, this is the last chapter, enjoy and review! ^.^ if you haven't already, check out my other fanfic, A Not So Sweet Dream**

Neji walked through the streets, browsing stores, waiting for something to catch his eye. He wasn't sure where he was. He never walked in this part of town before, he had no need to until now. He walked past the stores that were full of gifts or clothes, hoping there would be something in one of these stores he could give to Tenten. No luck. As he window-shopped, he saw a giant dog sitting in front of the stores. _Isn't that Kiba's dog?_ He thought to himself as he looked for the owner. Surely enough, Kiba and Shino were inside said store trying out their new tuxedos.

"Hey Neji, you shopping here too?" Kiba asked as he spotted Neji enter the store.

He nodded.

"Shino and I finally decided on what to wear, we're trying to get used to them, like girls do with new shoes." He explained as he adjusted his suit. Their tux's were the same, with the exception of Shino's black undershirt and Kiba's pink shirt.

"Do you want help picking one out? I know all the- " Shino began to suggest.

Kiba interrupted, "Good idea! If Shino wasn't with me I definitely wouldn't know any difference between all these suits."

"… Fine" Neji accepted. With that, they helped Neji pick out a nice black tux with a dark gray shirt and a silver tie. He didn't need much help picking it out, because unlike Shino, Neji didn't really care for the stitch work and material.

"This dance, Hinata said we needed masks for it…"

Shino started, "yes, it is a masque-"

"It's a masquerade! Of course you need a mask. We already got ours yesterday. If you need one there's a store right up the street."

"Why does everyone insist on interrupting me…"

"What was that? Did you say something Shino?"

"…." He glared at Kiba, though it was difficult to tell.

"So there's a store where I can buy a mask?" Neji asked.

"Yea, that's where everyone got theirs." Kiba answered as he glanced out the window. "Uh oh, I think I should go, Akamaru looks kinda thirsty. See ya."

Kiba walked out the door to tend to his companion.

Shino stood there."…. He forgot about me again. We spent an afternoon shopping together and he left me here without a word…. People can be so hurtful sometimes."

Neji just watched the poor guy as he left the store, complaining to himself.

Shortly after, Neji purchased his tuxedo and departed. _A mask store huh?_ Neji thought as he kept his eye out for the store. _Wait, what's that? _ He spotted a store with odd masks and accessories in the window. "Party's Every Need, huh?" He walked inside to check it out. He looked at the walls full of masks. Most were traditional and not as fancy as expected. _Hm, not much to choose from, but if this is where everyone is buying them from… _he picked up a mask, purchased it and went home.

* * *

**The next day**

* * *

Only two more days until the party, yet Neji still didn't have a present. He had to find one soon. Footsteps were heard outside Neji's room. He opened his sliding door to see Hinata walking down the hallway.

"Hinata."

She turned to face him. He gestured for her to come to him. "Yes Neji?"

"I need your help. I don't know what to get Tenten as a gift..."

"Oh, well I suppose you don't have to get her anything. But if you want to, maybe you can get weapons. Or maybe look around a store for jewelry or something nice."

He looked disappointed. "I already thought about that. Weapons are too expected and impersonal, and jewelry seems... too intimate of a gift."

"Well, I got her a decorated kunai with some new ribbons for her hair. So maybe something along those lines? If you want I can say it's from both of us."

Neji shook his head. "Thank you, but I think I should find my own gift. The advice is appreciated, you may leave now." Hinata bowed and left.

Neji had a challenge at hand. He needed to get her something girly, yet practical. He thought about it for awhile, _what would Tenten like best? A weapon or an actual gift…_he brainstormed until an idea popped in his went over to his desk and began to doodle.

An hour and a few crumpled pieces of paper later, he was proud of his drawing! He put it in his robe and headed off on a journey out of the village.

* * *

**At a little hut outside of Konoha**

* * *

After about an hour trip through the forest, he arrived at his destination. He stared at the little hut with smoke coming out and walked towards it. _I hope this goes well. _He knocked on the door and was welcomed by a small familiar face.

"Oh it's you again! Where's your friend? Shoseki we have company!"

"Yay!" Shoseki yelled from afar.

"Hello Master Lou. Tenten is not with me this time. "

"Oh? But isn't she your way of transporting everything?"

"Actually, I came here on my own. I have a request for you Master Lou."

"Oh, and what may this be?"

"I know you like a challenge," he pulled out the paper from his shirt. "So I thought you'd be the perfect person to come to."

Lou looked at the picture on the paper and his eyes lit up. "Young man, I would be honored to make this for you! It is all about CHALLENGE!"

Neji grinned. "So can you have it ready in two days?"

Lou grinned, "well I am a busy man. Buuut, the limited amount of time does help with the challenge I have been issued. It's a deal! I will put all of my attention into making this design and have it done within two days! Hurry Shoseki, we must start immediately!"

"Yes sensei!" his helper said while carrying supplies towards the fire pit.

As the two started preparing for their adventure, Neji took a satisfied departure back to town.

* * *

**One day left- In Tenten's world**

* * *

The girl sat outside near the training grounds, flipping a kunai in the air. *Siigh* "I have no date, I'm getting a little stressed from this party thing, and I haven't seen Neji in days… I wish I had someone to train with to get this out of my system, but I don't know where Lee is and I don't wanna bother Neji." *sigh*

"Tenten?" said an unfamiliar voice.

She looked up to see a boy she didn't know. He was about her age, tall with short, choppy, brown hair and a sword strapped to his back. "Uh, hi. How do you know my name?"

"You are the Weapon's Mistress of Konoha right?" he said slightly blushing.

Then turned a light shade of red. _Weapon's Mistress of Konoha? Am I really that well known to have a nickname like that? _"Um, yea. Why?"

"My name is Haruka, and I'm a skilled swordsman. I've wanted to meet you for awhile but you were either around people or I could never find you. Um, anyway, I was wondering if I could spar with you sometime, it would be an honor to test my skills with yours. "

Tenten perked up. "Actually I'm free right now if you want to spar."

Haruka smiled and nodded. They readied their weapons and trained on the field. Tenten started out slow with simple head to head combat with several different weapons, then moved back and began to test his defense with her summoning techniques. The spar lasted a good twenty minutes. Haruka did well in the head to head combat, but some of her weapons couldn't be avoided by a sword.

"Are you okay?" Tenten asked.

"Yea, just got nicked by a scythe I think."

Tenten went over to him and helped bandage his arm. Haruka blushed a little at her kindness. "Thank you Tenten-san."

She replied with a smile, "no problem." _He's pretty good. I finally get to train with someone who won't always win. And it doesn't hurt that he's kinda cute._

"Well, as expected I'm not nearly as skilled as you, but if you wouldn't mind I would like another match sometime."

"Of course" she said. _I think this may be my only option at this point. The party is tomorrow and let's be honest, I haven't heard from or seen Neji in days. He's not going to be there…_"Hey, I don't know if one of my friends told you or not, but I'm having my eighteenth birthday party."

"Yea, some pink haired girl told me about it."

"Well, I was wondering if you'd be interested in being my date for the masquerade."

"Really? I mean we just met, are you sure you don't want to go with one of your teammates or something?"

"Well the only other person I would want to go with isn't going. Besides I enjoyed your company today, I wouldn't mind going with you. That is unless you don't want to."

"Oh of course! It would be my pleasure. I just never imagined I would be dancing with you. Let alone this soon. "

"Great. See you tomorrow then." She said when everything was put away.

"Yea, see you." Haruka said as they parted ways.

_Mission accomplished. Date acquired._

* * *

**Day of the Party- 4pm**

* * *

The party was to take place in the evening, so Neji waited until the afternoon to retrieve the gift. It was four in the afternoon when he left Konoha, leaving him two hours to get there and back. "They better have it ready by now. I gave them most of today to finish it."

An hour later, he arrived at the small building and entered the open door. Master Lou was sitting towards the fire, his back turned to Neji. "Ahem" Neji coughed.

Lou turned around. "Oh there you are! "

"Are you done with it?" he asked.

"Yes, I just finished the details. Before you take it would you like to have it engraved? It seems valuable."

Neji considered it. "Yes, that is a good idea."

"Shoseki! Get the engraver. So, what would you like to have it say?"

Neji thought for a minute…

* * *

**Picnic Grounds- 5:30pm**

* * *

Tenten and Lee were at the picnic grounds where she was holding the party. They had all the decorations and food in one area. There were two tables and a small open grassy area that was surrounded by trees. Tenten thought it was a beautiful area. The trees provided some privacy with enough open space for a decent party.

"Alright Lee, you set up the food and I'll work on the decorations." Lee set up all the chips, dips, and other appetizers Tenten had bought, including a marble cake (Since she didn't know what people liked, she went with both and had them mixed). The table was beautifully assorted with some small table decorations scattered among the tablecloth. Tenten took the bags she bought from the store and opened the streamers. She threw one bag up so some would gently get caught in the tree branches and hang down above the tables. She took the other bag and laced them through a few shuriken and kunai to make it a bit for festive for her tastes. She then took the weaponized streamers and hung them around from tree to tree.

She looked around the area then to Lee's table. "Perfect!"

Moments later Sakura and Ino showed up with some speakers and a box of goodies. "What's this?"

"These are some speakers for the music, which we provided, and the box has just a few more things we thought would go nicely for this area." Sakura explained.

Ino looked around. "I see you already started without us. Looks nice, but I think we can tweak it slightly for the dance."

"Like what?" she asked.

Sakura pulled out several lights and glow sticks from the box. The two girls strung up the lights around all the trees and placed the speakers in hidden areas surrounding the field. "Trust us, when the sun goes down, you'll love us for this. And we have some other small things in the box for when the dance actually starts."

"Okay." Tenten said sounding slightly unsure.

"So did you find a date?" Ino asked.

"Oh yea, this guy named Haruka."

"The guy with the swords? I've seen that him every now and then so I invited him." Sakura said.

"Wait, so you're not going with Neji?"

Tenten shook her head. "I haven't seen or heard from him in days…"

"Sorry Tenten." Sakura sympathized. "If you want you could have one of my dates."

Tenten giggled, "No thanks. I see enough Lee as it is, and I don't need to see any more Naruto."

"Sakura-chan… I'm right here." Lee sulked.

"Oh hi Lee, didn't even see you there." Sakura said with a small 'my bad' laugh.

With everything done and decorated, they hung around until it was time to change into their outfits.

* * *

**Party Time- 6:30pm**

* * *

One by one people began to show up in their formal wear. At first she could guess who was who until it began to grow in population. Once most of the Chuunin and Jounin she knew arrived, the masked faces became more difficult to distinguish between as some of the lesser known guests showed up. About twenty people showed up and grouped up around the field and the food table. The other table was slowly filled with gifts. Tenten took this opportunity to try and guess who was behind each mask. Needless to say it was a difficult game.

Sakura approached her, "Tenten, I think everyone's here, do you want to cut the cake now?" She nodded.

"Okay everyone! Gather around, it's about time for Tenten to cut the cake!"

Everyone began to migrate at the sound of "cake". And almost as if on a cue, everyone began to sing happy birthday. After the couple awkward seconds of her staring at the cake waiting for the singing to stop, she blew out the candles and was applauded. Everyone's eyes were on Tenten as they all simultaneously congratulated her on turning eighteen. Then a second later a line was formed for cake._ I hope I can feed all these people_, she thought to herself. Luckily enough, everyone who wanted a slice got cake.

Hinata approached her. "I think this would be a good time to open gifts since everyone's eating." Tenten agreed and went over to the second table. "Attention everyone. Tenten would like to open her gifts now."

_Why does it feel like everyone's talking for me? _She then picked gifts at random, opened them, and thanked the giver. She got jewelry and more personal gifts from her friends while most of the other guests typically gave her weapons. Hinata gave her the decorated kunai and hair ribbons. Sakura gave her some perfumes and make up. Ino gave her a basket composed of bath soaps and other good smelling accessories. Kiba and Akamaru gave her a stuffed dog. Lee got her a GIANT stuffed panda bear with a handmade headband on it (symbolic?), and of course, Naruto got her a coupon for a free cup of ramen at Ichiraku. She then came across one of the last gifts. It was a nicely wrapped box with no name tag on it. She unwrapped it and opened the box. She was happy to see a decorated double-sided chain scythe.

"Ooohh.. This looks nice." She said as she picked it up. It had a nice gold trim around the bottom of the scythes with a silver chain. She turned it over and noticed a note next to a button on the gold trim. The note read 'Push Me'. She pushed the button and watched as the chain turned into a staff. Two polls emerged from the bottom of the trim and connected when they met the center. The weapon was now an elegant gold and silver staff with scythes on both ends. It was stunning, and everyone admired the craftsmanship of it. She rotated the staff and took note of every small detail. "Oh my…." She was speechless. She had never had such a beautiful and dynamic weapon. She then noticed, etched on the staff in fancy font, a small message.

It read ' ~For Konoha's Weapon Mistress- A beautiful weapon for a beautiful kunoichi~ ' She was touched. Such a beautiful message and beautiful weapon. It was definitely the best gift she's ever gotten. "W-who's gift is this?" No one answered. She looked upset, not knowing who gave her this wonderful gift. She pushed the button again converting back to the chain, then put it back in the box and set it aside and opened the remaining few gifts.

When all the gifts were opened, Ino started the music and got her box out. "It's party time!" Everyone then rushed to the field to dance. The sun was setting, so Ino turned on the tree lights, giving a gold glow to the area. Tenten looked to the golden trees, "They were right. The place looks magical." Sakura handed out different colored glow sticks while Ino blew glitter over the field as well as everyone in the field. It was a success, everyone was laughing, dancing and having a great time.

Tenten smiled, then went off to hunt for her date who she hasn't seen all night. She made her way through the crowd of bodies, but couldn't find him. Other nearby dancers however took the opportunity to dance with the birthday girl. She snagged dances with Lee, Kiba, Chouji, and a couple of boys she didn't know. _Who needs a date? _She thought jokingly to herself. All the dances were relatively short, about one song long. They were fun 'jumping in the air with glow stick' dances and some typical body moving dances, no grinding or inappropriate stuff. The music began to slowly change from party songs to slower nicer songs.

At this point everyone began to slow down their dancing. There were flowing dresses, colored suits, and sparkling masks everywhere she looked. And as soon as her and her last partner finished their nice dance, a hand tapped her shoulder. She turned around to see a tall suited figure bowing to her with his hand held out. She accepted, but instead of dancing close together, like everyone else, they did a more classical dance. One hand held together, his hand on her side, her hand on his shoulder. It was a bit unexpected, but nice.

She and her date moved rhythmically to the music. She took the opportunity to admire his outfit. It matched her outfit quite well, except the slightly odd mask he wore. It wasn't like most of the other ones, instead it covered the entire face with blacked out eye holes. It seemed to resemble a bird and had black feathers around the whole thing. It wasn't as flattering as some of the more decorated, smaller masks that most of the boys wore, but it did stand out.

She couldn't tell who she was dancing with, the mask made it impossible. She gripped his broad shoulder in one hand and noted how his suit fit perfectly against his well-toned body_. He's very fit_… she blushed picturing the muscles through the tux.

Unlike her other dance partners, they continued their formal dance even after the song ended. Tenten rather liked the slow dancing, it was simple and calming. Several songs went by, and as they continued to dance, Tenten unconsciously grew closer and closer to his chest. Normally she wouldn't get this intimate with someone she didn't know, but the slow dancing soothed her. She rested her head against him and listened to his heartbeat. It relaxed her to the point where they would simply sway to the music. By this time, most of the other dancers were sitting at the tables, talking and enjoying small snacks.

The dance floor was theirs.

While swaying, she went through her head trying to imagine who she might be dancing with. _This comfort I feel, it can't be with a complete stranger. I have to know him somehow. Is it Haruka? I haven't seen him today, but maybe it's because of this mask. _

Tenten finally lifted her head from his chest and looked up at her dance partner. The lights gave a glow around his figure, making him even more stunning to look at. Likewise, unbeknownst to Tenten, the light gave her an angelic glow which made her date blush (although no one could see). Even though neither of them had spoken yet, she felt connected with him. There was a special feeling floating around that she didn't quite understand. She wanted to stay close to him. She loved his smell, the warmth that she felt when pressed against his body. She never had someone to be intimate with, but this was a good start.

_I know I don't really know him, but dancing with him makes me feel like I've known him for years. It's- it's weird but… I can't help how comfortable I feel right now. I feel like I belong in his arms. I mean out of everyone, I thought the closest shot of romance might be with Neji. Yea long shot I know… but he's my closest friend, and I can't help but find myself, dare I say, attracted to him. I never thought I would be held by an admirer, and actually feel this connected. Maybe this is how it should be. I deserve to be happy and loved. _

The boy interrupted her train of thought with a light, muffled question. "Did you like my gift?"

Tenten looked up, "the scythe- staff?"

He nodded.

_He's the one who got me the scythes? Now I know it's him! I should've known such a beautiful weapon could only come from a fellow weapon user._

"Yes, I loved it. Thank you so much," she said with a hint of pink on her cheeks. She looked into the black eye holes, sensing him staring back at her. "If I may, I would like to repay you for your generous gift with a kiss."

His body stiffened up a little, not knowing how to respond to the offer.

"It's just a small kiss, nothing to be shy about," she said nervously, mentally preparing herself for her first kiss. "I'll need to remove your mask though." He hesitated to let her take it off.

"Come now, it's the least I could do." He seemed unsure of what to do, but eventually he stood still enough to allow Tenten's hands to slide his mask to the top of his head.

Her eyes widened as her hands found their way to cover her mouth. His arms were still wrapped around her as she just stood there in shock.

She whispered to herself, "N-Neji?"

He stood there with a light grin on his face. "Yes?"

She was still speechless. _I-I was dancing with Neji this whole time? I rested my head on his chest and swayed with him! This doesn't make sense, it seemed like he actually enjoyed dancing with me. But he couldn't be that affectionate… Oh god I offered to kiss him! _She began to blush madly at all these realizations. "I… you didn't… I thought you weren't coming…"

He smiled at her embarrassment. "I thought it was important, so i came for you. Besides, you seemed to like our dance together."

Her face was still flushed but she removed her hands from her mouth. "Yea… It felt nice" Then something clicked in her head. "So, you gave me the scythes?"

He nodded. "I designed it and had it made specially by an expert. I thought you might like it."

Her eyes began to water. "Oh Neji it's beautiful!" She couldn't help herself, she got on her tiptoes and threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. He's never given this much thought into anything for Tenten, it overwhelmed her. She noticed his hair was in a regular ponytail, which was unnoticeable while dancing, being unable see his head or back. He returned the hug, happy that she was actually crying from joy.

At this point some of the party goers watch the two as they embraced in the clearing. Making their dancing break somewhat a little more interesting.

They both thought to themselves, _I like this. It feels nice to hug someone you care about. I don't want to let go… _but surely enough the embrace had to end. Tenten went down to her normal height, both hands on his shoulders. "Thank you for coming tonight," she said softly.

He smiled. "Thank you for inviting me."

Neji's smile made her blush again. She wasn't use to being exposed to this much happiness from him.

"And you may have noticed your date isn't here" he added.

_My date? … Haruka!_ She looked at him questioningly.

"Don't worry about him, he didn't ditch you. We just had a little talk."

Tenten didn't know what to say to that. She wasn't too upset he didn't show up, and was a little curious to why Neji talked to Haruka. Or even how he found out about him to begin with. She just nodded.

"Um, well do you want to sit down and take a break?" she asked, attempting to break any awkwardness.

"Maybe in a minute. But um…" Neji hesitated his next words.

Tenten looked at him curiously.

His cheeks turned a slight pink, "….. Don't you owe me a kiss?"

Tenten's eyes widened for a second, then blushed up to her ears. "Oh, um, right…" her voice grew softer, "…that is if you want one." She looked up at him and noticed his head was slightly closer to hers and his pearl eyes were staring softly into hers. Her heart started to beat rapidly as she tiptoed up closer to his face.

She paused for a moment. They were face to face, both pairs of eyes were slightly closed. Their eyes met, and with that moment, they both felt their hearts transfer into the others. They felt completely connected. Their feelings for each other became apparent, resulting in their lips touching, then pressing together in a tender kiss.

Their hearts fluttered, sensing everything they could about their partner. His tuxedo, her skin, their lips. It felt like a wonderful eternity. Slowly and unwillingly, they pulled away and just held each other for a moment. Soon after, the sound of an applauding audience was heard from the tables. They turned to see the entire party cheering for them.

_Heh, this is better than my dream._ Neji smiled to himself as Tenten blushed at her audience. "Happy birthday Tenten, everyone is here for you."

She smiled at his words.

"And I'm here for you." He added as he embraced her.

Tenten blushed and fell into his embrace. She knew that after that night, Neji belonged to her. And she belonged to Neji. They swayed for the rest of the night, listening to soft music and crickets.

**Yea, kinda predictable right? Whatever, I thought it was cute so I wanted to do it :3**

**I was also thinking about doing one more chapter with Neji's point of view of the story. How Tenten was acting weird towards him, what he thought during their dance, and what he said to Haruka. Those kinda of things. Yay or nay? Comment and give your opinion! 3 **


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